In the Great Wide Somewhere
by evenstar345
Summary: The curse has just ended. The adventure? It's just beginning. The set up is perfect for a happily ever after, but the people have their say. An uprising turns royalty to refugees. Can Belle help Adam unravel the dangerous plot against their lives and convince the people that he is a prince worth having? Read along to find out.
1. Chapter 1

I am writing just to see where this takes me. I've got an abundance of feels from the new movie release. Who knows…as always, let me know what you think. Reviews keep my on my toes, and always brighten my day!

Chapter 1

"Please, please don't leave me," she pleaded, "I-I love you."

She buried her face into his chest. Tears she had held back as she spoke to him now flowing freely, and she wept. It seemed that an eternity passed, it may have passed, she would not have noticed. Her sudden realization, her anguish, completely took over her consciousness. She lifted her head to look up at his face and saw it. A strange glow had begun to swirl around them, no- around him. Her eyes widened and she fell backwards as it lifted him into the air. It surrounded him and she watched as the Beast that she loved transformed before her very eyes. He grew smaller, the hair left his body and his features rearranged until… He turned to face her, eyes blazing, smiling at her with total amazement.

"Belle, it's me," he said.

Who? There was nothing there that she knew, no anchor to tie him back to the Beast that she was mourning mere moments ago, unless- those eyes? The deep cornflower blue that danced when he smiled. She knew those eyes.

"It really is you!" she exclaimed.

He twirled her around and they shared their first kiss, each more amazed at the other. He stepped back and held her at arm's length.

"Belle, you love me?" he said. Those eyes, still amazed, searched her features for some sort of explanation.

"I do, Beas-t," she fumbled here for a moment. The only name that she knew to call him seemed wrong, strange on her tongue, she looked up at him quizzically, hoping he could fill in the blanks.

"Adam," he answered for her smiling, "I haven't felt worthy of that name for what seems like an eternity."

"Adam," she repeated, reaching up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind his ear, "what- what is happening?"

He looked down, and grabbed her hands, afraid to hold her eyes, "I have been here, cursed by my own selfishness for what I believe has been a decade. I was cursed to become what I was- a beast- until I could love, and find someone else who would love me as I was. I was doomed to that fate until the last petal of that rose fell and thereafter, for eternity. You, Belle," his eyes did look up into hers now, "you saved me. This is who I truly am, and I am forever in your debt."

This was almost too much to take in. Never in the most outrageous tale had she read of anything like this. Then again, never had she ever imagined herself in love with a Beast. Stranger things have happened. She closed her eyes and reached up again to kiss him, testing his permanence. When her eyes opened, there he remained.

Adam, for his part, felt that his heart could burst. Such happiness and love had become routine for him in the past months, but having her there, and the evidence of her love being as clear as it was- well it was truly too much to handle. He noticed almost immediately that what he had lost in terms of animal like senses of hearing and sight he had regained in touch. His hands, now returned to their smaller, human state were an intense sensory overload. Her small, delicate hands fit neatly in his palm. Nevermore to be completely engulfed by his ugly paws. He could properly feel the curvature of her body. The lack of fur on his fingers amplifying the feel of the fine down hairs on the nape of her neck. The feel of her had changed. He felt less likely to break her as he used to, when he clumsily held her to him as they danced. Now they participated in their embrace as equals, each quite as unlikely as the other to do any real damage with a simple hug. He held her there, close to him and enjoyed the feel of her.

"I love you, Belle, thank you," he said.

"I love you, too."

He held her at arm's length, his mouth curled up into a crooked smile, "Come with me? There's some people you should meet."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The castle, although it had lost its enchantment still enchanted her. Roses in full bloom lined her path as she made her way back up to the castle. There was sun now. Daylight that lit the bold architecture of the castle creating shadows and figures on the grounds. There were signs of awakening at every corner. Belle stooped down to pluck a rose, as she stood she found herself face to face with a gardener with an impressive red mustache. He was busying himself, raking up the seeds and rubbish that had fallen from the trees as they sprang to life. " _Mademoiselle_ ," he nodded as he raked past her. Wasn't he once a similar rake? She smiled at this thought, and turned away quickly to hide her recognition. She walked the remainder of the way back to the castle, rose in hand. Adam was somewhere within, most likely fussing with Cogsworth over some aspect of importance regarding their daily lives. Nearly a month had passed since the curse was broken. During that month, the entirety of their little village and the staff and family of the castle had to reconcile with that which was forgotten. It turns out, forgetting the governing nobility for a solid decade had caused quite a few problems within the area. Whether in feast or famine the little village had learned to fend for itself, completely doing away with the necessity of the noble class. It had formed a makeshift government of shorts, it was simple and barely functioning, and even so, Adam found himself quite at a loss as to what exactly his new role would be.

Belle followed the voices, the deep cadence of Adam's voice, still strange to her after his transformation, and Cogsworth's proper, rhythmic sound. She found them in the study, pouring over ledgers from long past and attempting to reconcile numbers that should have been taken much more seriously many years before. The villagers had been collecting taxes dutifully, it was not uncommon for smaller providences to collect without any form of representation or presence of their nobility. Although, to have no guidance on their education, or social programs was disturbing to them, when it came to actually doing something about it they always found themselves forgetting, their minds consumed with a trivial something that had suddenly become ever so important. In this way, then enchantresses curse affected the livelihoods of every person surrounding the castle, and not just its inhabitants. Belle peered around the door to see Adam sitting at a large table in the expansive library that Adam has once given her. They were surrounded by papers, strewn about. Cogsworth was standing beside him leafing through the disheveled pile.

"Cogsworth, this is beyond me. How am I going to face them after this?" Adam rested his head in his hands, pushing back his hair over his head in an exasperated motion.

A stern looked passed over Cogsworth's lined face and he responded, "you're going to jump back in, and you're going to show them that you are a leader worth having."

Belle walked in and Adam looked up, some small amount of the frown lines on his face softening.

"Hey, Belle," he said wearily.

She crossed over to him, placing a comforting hand on his broad shoulders.

"Perhaps I could help?" she asked, "I spent most of my life in this village. I have some ideas, some thoughts to help us get things back on track."

Adam looked up at her hopefully.

"Actually, that-"

He was cut short, Lumiere burst open in the door and strutted into the room.

"Now see here, you-" Cogsworth began.

"Cogsworth, my friend, _Mademoiselle_ , Master, forgive the intrusion," Lumiere said, smiling broadly.

"Quite rude, quite," grumbled Cogsworth.

"I could not help but to overhear," Lumiere said, clapping Cogsworth heavily on the back, "and believe me, this is not something that has escaped the notice of the servants, master. You must gain back the trust of your people if you hope to lead them. If I may be so bold as to offer our thoughts, we have a solution. This plan will solidify your presence as a more permanent part of their lives, and endear you to your people. We believe this is something that will suit everyone, most _agréable,"_ he said with a cocked eyebrow at Belle.

Cogsworth, quite past his threshold for patience responded, "out with it then, man."

"It is _assez facile_ , you must marry Belle," he said smirking, "and soon."

Belle stared wide eyed at Lumiere. Of course this wasn't a new idea to her, or Adam for that matter. They had certainly spoken of it in the times when they were able to sneak away from the endless policies and papers that seemed to haunt Adams every waking moment. It just seemed like such an excess, when there were so many more pressing items for him to attend to, they could wait. Belle looked at Adam, who had decided to look anywhere but at her.

Lumiere could sense the awkwardness in the room, but cared little. It needed to be said. More softly now, he added, "can you not see? You love Belle, she loves you. You have the perfect example of your loyalty to your people right here, with her. Master, you can prove that you have changed by marrying one of them. You know as well as I do that marrying a commoner was not something that the old prince would have considered."

Belle, stood quietly by, she could make her opinions known…and would, but was rather curious to see what Adam had to say.

Adam did look at her then, hoping to read in her eyes what was impossible to express without words, she was frustratingly controlled in her expression. He felt a twinge of anger warming his core and looked away.

"I…Cogsworth?" he said, looking up at his most trusted advisor.

"Master, as much as it pains me to say it…Lumiere may be correct. You can make plans to rebuild and improve the lives of the people as much as you want, but to do that you will need to regain their trust. Perhaps this is a simpler way," Cogsworth calmly polished his monocle as he spoke, "You can build quicker with the full strength of your subjects at your back."

Adam considered this for a moment, and stood, "you will leave us," he said pointedly to the two men, gesturing towards the exit.

Both bowed and quickly exited the room, closing the double doors behind them.

"Adam-," Belle began, reaching towards his arm, but he held up a hand and backed away slowly.

Before she could register feeling hurt at his recoil, he looked up at her. She saw in his eyes a frustration that she hadn't seen in a very long time. He backed away towards the books lining the walls, letting his hand run down the spines of the old books. They had spent hours here, leisurely reading, devouring the words of philosophers, epic poets and writers. Those times were but a memory, and it seemed to him that they were over.

"Belle," he began, "in the time since I have met you, this has become my favorite room. We've shared so much in here, just us…"

Belle closed some of the distance between them, her eyes trying to lock with his, hungrily searching for some answers to this new-found shyness. He kept his gaze on the books but added, "when I met you, you changed me. I have a new respect for the prince-the king that I should be. I can never put myself first, and for me- well, if I was putting myself first I would spend my time in here with you. For all of eternity, just with you, doing whatever we pleased. I can't offer you that, to the woman I owe everything, I can't even offer you the proposal that you deserve."

He did lift his gaze to her then, and found that there-in lied the strength that he was missing, "but I can offer you my love. I can offer it for the rest of my life, I think that I've been putting this off trying to fix all of my problems before I committed to you. I can see now that I have been a fool. It might just be that the secret to my happiness, to my subjects' happiness- is you."

Unable to hold her tongue any longer, Belle said, "I have seen a passion awaken in you for governing your people in this past month. I am ready, I know we can do this together, what's more, I think we can do this well."

She smiled slightly, taking his hands from his sides and holding them in her own, softly kissing the knuckles. He bent his head to kiss the top of hers and pulled away, falling to one knee, "Belle, my sweet Belle, will you marry me?"


	3. Chapter 3

A loud rapping on the door woke Belle from her slumber. She was alone in her room, encased in pillows of varying sizes and texture. The sun had barely risen. Orange light danced across the doorway where the frantic knocking emanated. Frantically she fought her way up the pillows, pounding them down as they sprang up around her. The rapping continued, louder this time, and with more urgency.

" _Mademoiselle_ , you must wake at once!"

It was Mrs. Potts.

Belle made a noise that was hardly becoming of a lady, and bolted upright, "mhhmm? I'm up, I'm up, come in Mrs. Potts."

The large woman blew into the room, wrenching open the curtains.

"They are coming," she said urgently as she opened drawers and boxes, flinging their contents out and into a pile.

She could hear them now.

Loud voices, angrily yelling. Thundering footsteps, heavily falling. Scraping rock, knocking back.

The castle shook.


	4. Chapter 4

Belle's ears rang, her head smacked the headboard, thrown back from the impact. Her stomach turned. Dust fell. She looked up. The golden chandelier that hung high in her room shook. Belle tried to focus on the little crystals hanging from it. They moved slowly, catching the light and refracting it across the expansive ceiling. Curious.

Mrs. Potts frantically went about her room, gathering what essentials she could. She yelled instructions to servants out of sight.

Everything moved in a blur, slowly- yet quickly. She couldn't see. Why couldn't she see? She couldn't focus. Why couldn't she focus? She shook her head, and moved her hand up to the back of it. When she pulled it away she saw red.

Loud footsteps fell down the hall and outside her room.

Suddenly he was there.

His broad shoulders filled the doorway. Blue eyes blazing as they took in the sight, he said something quick to Mrs. Potts and she scurried away.

Belle's eyes blinked twice as she looked again at her red hand. How did that happen? Why were her hands red, she wondered?

Two strides. It two exactly two strides for Adam to clear the space from the door to her bed. He grabbed her hand, roughly turning it over, presumably looking for signs of injury. When he found none he let it go, and her hand traveled back to the throbbing pain at the back of her head. Adam's eyes widened in realization, and his hand reached up, gingerly touching the wound.

"INCOMING MASTER!" a young boy shouted from the hallway.

Adam braced himself quickly against Belle, absorbing the impact as another boulder hit the castle. The room shook with a deadly ferocity. His blue eyes glared towards the window, a growl in his throat. He didn't yell, he didn't slam his fists down in anger. He looked back at her. She looked at him. She saw the control it took, as he breathed in and swallowed. He gritted his teeth and tore a section of fabric from the bed sheets.

"I'll try to be gentle," he said softly, as he wrapped it around Belle's head.

She tried to be brave as he tied it, admittedly a bit too tight, next to her ear. Nevertheless, a grimace passed over her face. A small tear fell from her dark eyes.

"We have to go, Belle. We can fix it later," he said quickly, "can you walk?"

She gritted her teeth and stood, determined to get to the door. Two doors stood in place of the one door that she remembered, and she faltered. A hand came up behind her and bolstered her up.

"I've got you," he said.

They made their way down, deep into the castle. Through doors she didn't remember seeing and hallways that seemed to go down forever. Torch in hand he guided them. Urging her swiftly along, and then picking her up when he felt that they were going too slow. Down and down they went until they reached a cavernous space.

A few huddled souls, castle servants, already lined the walls. Most of them were still. They stared wide-eyed across the room. Few looked up as they entered. Few seemed to notice. A pot of something was heating in the middle of the room. There were several doors around them, and the cavern smelled musty and old. One small woman was busily milling around, tending to small wounds and offering a hot drink to those in need. She was red headed, hair cropped short and swept to the side, with freckles so tight that she looked sun-kissed. She had bright grey eyes and an eyebrow that was permanently tucked down below the other, so that she looked quite skeptical. Her small frame was filled out with leather armor and tied together with green muslin. A long dagger, which was actually very small, but looked half her size was secured to her thigh with a belt. She looked up as they entered and quickly finished pouring a cup for the man she was tending.

Adam sat Belle down at the edge of the room and called over the small woman. Betsy, she thought he said.

Her head swelled painfully, but her eyes focused better now, the initial shock wearing off. Betsy gingerly touched the back of Belle's head, practiced hands untying the hurried wrap job and searching the wound.

Adam stood back, watching carefully.

"Well?" he said.

"It's not too deep. Clean cut. Head wounds bleed like hell, but the skull is tough," she stood back and smiled at Belle, "hurts like hell too, doesn't it?" She turned back to Adam and added, "I'll clean it a bit and bandage it with something a little better than curtains. She's fine."

Adam nodded once and turned to leave.

Belle felt immediate panic at this turn of events and struggled to find her voice again,

"A-Adam?" she squeaked.

His back stiffened and he turned back to her, taking a knee and cupping her chin in his large hands.

"What? Can't you tell me what is going on? Where are you going?" she added.

He did not meet her eyes, he dropped his hand and let it drape, limply, over his knee.

"I-I am gathering a few things. Lumiere and Cogsworth agree, we must leave immediately. I can't fill you in completely right now, but I promise to be back soon. You're safe here…for now. Can I- Is there anything you want me to try to find, something you're particularly fond of?"

The frown lines between his eyes pulled together, a pained expression finally meeting her own. She looked down at her hands, a small diamond, a token of their promise shone in the torch light.

"No, nothing, but I can help," she added as she struggled to get back to her feet.

"Absolutely not, _mademoiselle_!" Betsy yelled from across the room. Belle saw her angrily stalk her way over to her and promptly sat back down. He head spinning from the exertion.

Adam frowned as another impact shook the castle, dirt and debris fell. Hushed cries of fear came from all around. His hands tightened at his side, and he turned to Betsy.

"Mrs. Potts has been here?" he asked curtly.

Betsy nodded.

"Then you know what to do. If I am not back in time you will help her to safety?"

Betsy nodded, a sideways glance at Belle, who was staring open-mouthed at Adam.

Adam cast his gaze down at Belle, "I _will_ be back."

Shudder upon shudder shook the castle as the assailants continued their siege of the premises. The cavern filled over the span of 20 or 30 minutes, it may have been longer.

Belle found that properly bandaged, she was able to stand and move about again. She helped alongside Betsy as more wounded filed in, the castle was not yet breached. Most of these were simple house servants, the main guard having been called out and to the towers to fight off the intruders.

As Betsy assessed what was most likely a sprained wrist, Belle watched on. Each minute growing more and more anxious.

Another few minutes passed. Finally, the door swung open loudly, Cogsworth entered.

His normally coiffed hair was disheveled, his fine clothes torn. Despite his haggard appearance he seemed mostly intact. He looked quickly at Belle, clearly trying to communicate something of immense importance with his expression, and then cleared his throat to address the crowd. The room was so full that most people chose to stand. Belle turned her head to listen, but felt a small hand on her elbow.

Betsy didn't look at her, but guided her out of middle of the room to a mostly empty space next to one of the many doors that surrounded the room. Silently Betsy handed Belle a cloak, grabbed on for herself and opened the door just enough to let Belle through.

Belle's eyes widened in a panic, _where is Adam?_ Her expression pleading with Betsy. Betsy looked up and nodded firmly towards the door, pushing her slightly. Belle gave in and squeezed through, Betsy followed.

They found themselves in a dark store room. Belle couldn't make out the hand in front of her face, much less the contents. She smelled root vegetables and onions, but didn't dare to move about least she bump into something. She heard a rustle of fabric and felt Betsy move next to her. Then, a small scraping noise followed by a tiny pop and sunlight streamed into the room.

Belle held up a hand to shield her eyes from the visual onslaught and felt a tug on the other as Betsy led her through the opening and through dense vines into a wooded area, she turned quickly back into the opening and Belle could hear the scraping resume as she moved whatever it was that blocked the opening back into place.

As Belle's eyes adjusted to the woods the sunlight seemed less jarring. The trees were dense here and relative to her room in the tower, hardly any sunlight streamed through. The underbrush was dark and green, and the vines grew thick over the opening, which was, in fact, a large rock formation of some sort.

Betsy popped back through the opening, cheeks flushed red with the exertion, and nodded at Belle, "Let's head over just a bit father, there's a dip in the landscape where we won't be seen. I will explain there."

Belle followed her down into the sloping hill. They were far enough away from the castle, but the sounds of the onslaught could still be heard. Belle sat on a moss-covered rock, facing these sounds.

"They will surrender," Betsy said, "the castle will not hold much longer."

"Adam?" Belle asked, the rest of the question wasn't necessary.

"He-," Betsy began but then stopped and smiled, nodding towards the opening.

The vines pushed aside, and Adam emerged, followed by Lumiere.

"I'm here," he said grimly. Lumiere passed him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he made his way to Belle.

"Are you quite injured, _mademoiselle_?" he asked, touching a finger to her bandaged head.

"I'm okay," she responded, looking past him to Adam.

Adam stared down at his hands. They were bloodied. Not his own, Belle thought, there wasn't a scratch on him that she could see.

"Cogsworth and the others?" she asked, "Plumette?" she added, looking at Lumiere.

He hung his head grimly, "they will surrender with the others…Plumette is with child, she cannot…"

"They will be imprisoned at best," growled Adam.

Lumiere continued looking at his feet, "I will return for them," he said softly.

"You can still go back, Lumiere. I told you, it is safer with them. It's me they want!" Adam said angrily.

Lumiere looked up at him angrily, "And _I_ told _you_ , master. My place is with you, and it will be until you no longer are desperately in need of my services."

The two men glared at each other, Adam grunted and rounded on Betsy.

"And you! I told you to take her far away from here. She should have been half way to Belgium by now," he said as he narrowed his eyes at her.

Betsy did not falter under his gaze, but met him head on.

"She deserves to decide that for herself," she said sternly, and looked at Belle.

Belle shook her head to clear it, holding a hand up against the throbbing that was beginning again.

"Adam?" she asked firmly, "what is, please tell me what is happening?"

She saw his shoulders fall, he turned to her and his gaze softened. He took her hands in his and knelt in front of her, "It's a revolt. The people are…they are revolting against us."

"Yes," she answered swiftly, "I can surmise that much. What is the plan? What are we doing?"

"I wanted you far from this, Belle, it's not safe with me. We haven't married, they wouldn't harm you even if they did find you…either way it's…it's safer far from me. I am nothing anymore." Adam said, ignoring the obvious eye roll from Betsy.

"As of now, milady," Lumiere said softly, "you are refugees."

Belle shrugged, "okay, then we leave. But you are not going without me. Regardless of what did or didn't happen today, you and I are tied together. That is a choice that I get to make too."

Adam shook his head slightly, exasperated, possibly a bit relieved that he wasn't alone. He took her hand in his and smiled his crooked half smile. Belle kissed the corner of that smile, and traced it with her finger.

"Are you okay," she asked, looking down at the bloodied hands that held hers.

"Fine." He answered, a bit of that anger returning to his voice, "it's not…well it isn't mine."

Her brow knit together in a worried expression, she kissed one finger that was still clean, and he whispered down to her, "this isn't exactly how I planned to spend our wedding day."

She grimaced, "but we're here. We're together."

He nodded.

"Let's go," called Betsy softly, placing a hand on Lumiere's shoulder, "we need to get more distance before they realize we've taken off with the Prince and his bride.


	5. Chapter 5

Miles and miles on foot separated the party from the screams and rumbling coming from the castle. Their pace had slowed from what was nearly a sprint to a slow trudge through the foliage. Their shoulders slumped with heavy bags, heads looking down- not forward to whatever awaited them. Betsy lead their party, dagger out, and eyes alert. Belle walked next to Lumiere, followed closely by Adam to her right. The plan, as it was now, was to get to Belgium. It was a six-day journey. There they could disguise themselves as average citizens, and figure out their next steps when they found a place to bunker down for a while. They hadn't talked since leaving. Their fine clothes hadn't been changed since fleeing the castle and were now covered in mud and grime. They had been walking for what seemed like days, but judging by the sun Belle thought it may have only been about 10 hours. Night was coming, and Belle realized with a loud complaint from her stomach that they hadn't yet eaten. She looked over at Adam, beseeching him to give her any type of glance, any clue as to what was going on. How much did he know? And what was to become of them now? He stared stubbornly downwards.

Lumiere finally lifted his head and met her gaze. Circles were already forming under his eyes she noticed. His usually cheery demeanor subdued.  
"Uh, master?" he said quietly.

The noise made Adams head jerk up in response, startled. Betsy stopped short from her position out ahead of them.

"Perhaps we should stop for the evening?" he continued timidly, "We'll need food to continue, which may take some time to scavenge."

Adam looked to Betsy, who nodded, and grunted in response. He shook off the heavy pack that he was carrying which fell to the ground with a heavy clatter.  
They had 3 bags between them. Each bag was crammed fuller than the last. Belle wasn't even sure what was in hers. She supposed that Mrs. Potts had crammed it full of whatever was available in her room. She lifted the top flap and peered inside, maybe Mrs. Potts had thought to include some food?/em She pulled out several plain dressing gowns and lengths of ribbon, much more comfortable that the stifling dress that she was currently wearing. She sat one aside for a moment next to a red ribbon that she could use as a sash. Two pairs of stockings, one wool blanket…a small music box gifted to her by her father. She daren't turn the key now, lest they attract anyone to their location with it's melody. She did hug it close, however. It's mere presence the comfort that she desperately needed. She placed it down next to the dressing gown and dug around in the bottom of the bag. In it she found a cup and two loaves of bread.  
To her left Adam and Lumiere were unpacking their bags as well. Plain clothing, extra stockings filled both. Adam reached in and pulled out a mirror- the mirror, in fact. He frowned at it for a moment, and with a deep breath handed it wordlessly to Lumiere. Lumiere took it into his hands, examining the ornate details as if he had never seen them.

"I-I found food, I have bread, a cup if we want water after washing up a bit," Belle said, looking around at the grimy crew.

A small stream flowed through the clearing where they stopped. Chilly water making its way down to the lake behind their former home.  
Betsy stood, putting something back into her small waist pouch, which seemed to be the only baggage that she had brought.

"Fine," she said, "I'll see if I can find something to supplement that." She stalked off into the forest, dagger at the ready.  
Lumiere cleared his throat, "hmph…if you do not mind, I will also see if I can find something for us."  
Belle saw him wipe the corner of his eye as he stood, and slipped the mirror into his belt as he walked off alone in the opposite direction.  
It was just the two of them now. Finally.  
Adam raised his head and ran a hand through his hair. The last dregs of sunlight peered through the trees, catching the amber shine of it as it fell back to his shoulders. He tilted his head back and looked up into the dense canopy of the forest. He sighed.

"We should change," he said, eyeing the clothing that Belle had set aside for herself, and picking up the cream shirt and plain brown breeks that he had found in his pack. He tied his hair back and removed his frilly shirt. The one he had, presumably, put on in anticipation of their wedding later that day. He turned so that she could change too, before the others returned. She clambered into her dressing gown and tied the red sash around her in a small bow. Adam, his shirt on but unbuttoned, reached down to wash the dried blood and grime off his hands. He looked up to see Belle staring uncertainly at him, waiting for an invitation into his thoughts, waiting for a clue of what he knew of this day that took them from soon-to-be married to refugees, fleeing for their lives.

Belle watched the fear cross his eyes, one would mistake it for anger, if they didn't know him. The secret to Adam was that his anger covered for his fears. His fears were innate and central to his being. Adam knew this, and knew that Belle was the first person he ever felt comfortable talking about these fears to, he'd done it before and it saved his life- every life of every person in the castle's. A safety that didn't last, he thought grimly to himself.  
Grumbling aside he stood and put his hands on top of Belle's shoulders, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. He pulled some excess ribbon from his pocket and turned her around. Tying the brown strands back, and out of her eyes. He turned her around to face him, drawing a finger down the side of her cheek. She leaned into his hand, closing her eyes. Thankful for a moment alone, and a tender touch.

"You look like you did the night I first met you," he said gruffly.

"Dirty and scared?" she asked, tilting her chin up at him.

"Well, no," he said, scrambling for words, dropping his hand instantly to his side.

"I'm teasing you," she added with a half-smile, grabbing his hand back up to her cheek.

He shook his head softly, no smile evident on his face, "it's not really the best time for teasing."

"Honestly, I don't know," she said with a hint of frustration in her voice, "I have no idea what's going on. What were you doing when I was in the cellar, or cave…or whatever that was? Why are Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts staying back? And Plumette?" Then a look of panic crossed her face, "Adam, my father! Where is he?"

Adam frowned, "he's safe, or he should be. Cogsworth arranged for him to be taken to Paris the moment we realized what was happening. He didn't want to leave you, but…well it's safer for both of you. We were going to arrange to have you both meet up after the initial revolt died down, but you- well you insisted that you come with me. We can't do that now, you understand? It would put him in grave danger," he glanced down at Belle, who nodded her understanding, "We can check on him- when Lumiere is done with the mirror. Cogsworth volunteered to stay back with any other servant who didn't make it out in time. I-I don't think they will harm them. They aren't interested in harming commoners." He ran a hand to his temple then, pressing down hard next to his eye and sitting on a nearby rock.

"And Mrs. Potts?" Bell inquired, kneeling next to him.

Adams hands lay in his lap, palms up, a tear drop fell into them, startling Belle. She looked up at him- his eyes were red rimmed.

"Adam what happened?"

He shook his head and stared harder at his hands, clean now…no longer…

"Adam, is she injured? That was her blood?"

His frown deepened, he could feel the anger boiling in his stomach. _Those….those…bastards_ , he thought. He grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut, forcing fresh tears out and onto Belle's hands.

She reached up, one hand on either side of his face.

"You need to tell me what happened," she urged.

Adam took a deep, steadying breath, "I'm not sure what happened, it all happened so fast. One of their boulders hit right next to us. I was coming to get her- tell her to evacuate down to be with Cogsworth. She and Chip were right there next to me. I saw it coming…but I couldn't…I couldn't get there in time." He squeezed his hands shut over top of his knees.

"Chip, too?" Belle said gently.

"No," Adam said firmly, "he was knocked out, she knocked him out of the way- both of us actually. I couldn't save her…but I carried him down. Cogsworth was tending to him last I checked…said he'd be fine."

"Oh, Adam," Belle said softly, "Adam, are you sure?"

He nodded grimly, unable to say anything else.

She flung her arms around him, and gathered him close to her. Slowly, she felt his arms return the embrace. He held her tightly as they cried quietly in each-others arms.

"We'll check on them, Adam. We can make sure they're okay. I only wish that we could let them know that we made it out alright," she whispered to him.

"That's the problem with enchanted mirrors," a grim voice said, "they only work one way," Lumiere handed the mirror to Belle and sat down on the ground next to them, working his way through his pack.

"I didn't find any food," he muttered, wiping a red rimmed eye with the corner of his sleeve.

Footsteps approached, and Belle felt Adam stiffen next to her. A twig snapped, and Betsy appeared in the clearing.

"Luckily for you all, I did," Betsy said, "holding up several small animals. Also, lucky for you all- I can make a fire without asking a servant for help."

Betsy turned and busily tended to some twigs and rocks to make a small fire.

"Adam," Belle whispered, "who is she?"

He shrugged as if he didn't think her presence was the least bit out of the ordinary, "best soldier I have. Her family has been loyal to us for generations. She was the one that alerted me of the revolt this morning. We wouldn't have made it out alive without her."

"And you wouldn't have made it past the night either," she called from the now kindled fire.

Adam shook his head, "I think you forget, Betsy, that I spent 10 years as an animal far scarier than anything we could encounter in these woods."

"Scarier doesn't mean that you know how to cook a squirrel."

He shrugged, not in the mood for laughter.  
They ate their meal quietly. Betsy tended to the fire, which had now dwindled to a small glow. Lumiere turned away from them all, staring at the mirror again, clutching it in his hands as if it was the source of life itself. Belle frowned and walked over to him, but was stopped when Betsy threw her blanket at her.

"Master, Belle- get some rest. I'll take first watch," she said, "leave him be," she whispered in Belles ear, before clambering up on a large rock at the outskirt of the clearing. A stick and a small knife in her hand for whittling.

"I don't mind staying up," Adam said.

"Nonsense, it's your wedding night after all- well, by all rights it should have been anyway," Betsy called from above.  
Adam shrugged and took the blanket from Belle's hands. He leaned against a tree trunk, and covered himself. He offered the other half of the blanket to Belle. She took it and scooted in next to him, looking up at his stern expression.

He noticed her, and looked down, planting a kiss on her head. "I'll make this right Belle," he said, "I will make them pay, each and every one of them."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They woke up the next morning stiff, unused to the feel of hard ground beneath them. Belle stretched widely, wincing at a small pain in her shoulder. _Nothing better than a full day of walking to get stretched back out_ , she thought grimly. Adam sat on a tall boulder above them, absentmindedly picking the bark off a twig as he stared blankly in the direction of his castle. It was long out of range of his vision, but Belle thought he must have been hoping to see some sign of a change, something to either confirm or overturn his worst fears. Betsy and Lumiere began to set up camp for a small breakfast. A tin of biscuits was somehow produced from Betsy's small sack and Lumiere was sent off to find a few edible plants on Betsy's instruction.

Belle tried to clamber up onto the rock next to Adam, her foot slipping on the thick moss. She shrieked a little and began to fall backwards when a strong arm thrust down and caught her around her upper arm, Adam pulled her up, she grabbed hold of a small ledge in the rock and managed to pull herself up to standing next to him. She quietly sat down next to him and brushed the long strands of his hair behind his ear.

"These shoes aren't made for climbing, I guess," she said softly, looking down at the dirty brown flat slippers she wore. They had been fairly new, and she found that her feet were quite blistered from yesterdays long walk. She leaned over to rub her heel and took off the shoe to let her feet stretch.

He cast her a sideways smile and turned back to staring ahead. Belle felt a small bit of frustration bubble up in her.

"Are we going to talk about this?" she asked, looking at him with a fiery gaze.

Adam looked down and behind him at the camp, their companions were gone scavenging, a moment alone.

"What do you want to know, Belle?" he asked. His eyes cast her a sorrowful look, his shoulders were slumped at his sides and his hands continued to nervously play with the bark on his little twig. Belle felt her frustration subside, and carefully covered his hands with her own, bringing them away from the twig and into her lap.

"Last night you said you'd make them pay, who are they?" she asked, stroking the back of his hands softly.

Adam sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging even more as he mulled over what he wanted to say. He met her eyes, shyly, not sure how he would be able to tell her how much of a failure he was. He couldn't tell her how much he had done, how he had brought this on himself…

"My informants say that they do not have a name," he shrugged, "just people who had power while I was banished, and who aren't happy with my return."

Belle thought about this for a moment and then said, "that's an oversimplification."

"You're right, but…Belle…" anger flashed behind his eyes, red hot, "what do you want me to tell you?" he growled, "that this is all my fault? That the mistakes I made over 10 years ago haunt me to this day? You want me to sit here and tell you about my failures? I was a terrible ruler and I lost my kingdom. I lost the only thing that I had. It's all true!" He lobbed the stick as hard as he could and screamed. It was the kind of scream that rattled the branches of nearby trees. The kind of scream that one makes when they are completely and utterly hopeless, it leaves them breathless and weary. It wasn't frightening, and Belle didn't feel scared. She felt heartbroken.

He slumped down, hands on his knees and stared at the ground. He was surprised to feel small arms encircling him tightly, utterly flabbergasted that she hadn't immediately jumped down and gone running in the other direction.

"You- I shouldn't have gotten angry," he said, defeated.

"You've had a rough couple of days, I'm angry too, and so desperately sad," she added, turning him to face her and putting her hands on either side of his face. She brushed the hair out of his eyes and smiled warmly, "and you didn't lose everything. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

"You must not be very smart…" he said with a half grin, "I can't control myself…my kingdom, I'm as far away from a man as I was when I was a beast."

She put a hand over his heart, "no, you're not. People get angry, they have bad days, and they don't deserve to be loved any less for it."

He leaned his head against her forehead, "you're right. I'm nothing without you, you changed me completely."

She pulled away, "wrong again, people don't change unless they want to. There was a piece of you deep down that wanted to do better. I saw it. Your servants saw it. We were just waiting for you to see it," she smiled warmly, "you can _do_ this."

He felt his face flush, "we can," his heart raced as he leaned in to embrace her, kissing her deeply.

Belle felt her heart race but pulled away when she heard a loud clatter below them followed by Lumiere shrieking.

" _Shit,_ apologies Lumiere!" Betsy had dumped a plate of berries out on Lumiere's lap.

"Sacre bleu!" he complained, "no, it is I who should apologize, I was not watching where I was going," he hastily tucked the magic mirror back into his belt and began to help Betsy clean up.

"There's food down here when you're through," Betsy called to them.

"Okay," Belle said before catching Adams hand before he began to climb down, "I'm worried about Lumiere."

"I am too," he frowned, "I'll talk to him, although I'm probably the last person he wants to talk to. I'm the reason this happened to him, not to mention the fact that you're here and he can't be with her…"

"He chose this, Adam," she said softly, "you mean quite a bit to more people than just me."

"People regret their choices every day," he said solemnly.

She screwed up her mouth as if she was going to say something, and then decided against it.

"Adam, when we get to Belgium what will we do," she asked.

"Strategize. Every 5th night Cogsworth will try to find a space alone where he can update me on what's happening. We should know more then. Right now, we don't even know if the castle is still standing," he said.

"So your plan is to take back the kingdom," Belle mused, "but how will you convince your subjects that you've changed?"

"Our subjects," he corrected.

"We're not married, yours," she said hesitantly.

He shot her a sideways glance, "I was not going to talk with you about this now."

"About what?"

"Well that's just it. If you're still-well- if you aren't going anywhere," he toyed with the ring on her finger and looked up at her, "then I think we should get married in exile. You understand these people more than I do, they're small minded…backwards…" he saw Belle narrowing her eyes, and added, "but they trust their own. I abandoned them, and I understand why they're upset, but I need go with our original plan. Lumiere made a good point, I can prove I'm one of them by being with one of them."

Belle shook her head, "but you aren't. You're not one of them. You're the prince. You are a born leader, and you'd be great if given the chance. I would marry you in a gutter, in exile, where ever we find ourselves, I would marry you. I just don't think that this is enough. They knew we were engaged, that didn't stop this."

He looked slightly taken aback, as if he hadn't dreamed that her response would be anything other than positive, "well what would you have me do?" His voice raised, clearly exasperated.

"Adam I didn't say no, I just said I don't think this is enough," she said softly.

"I-I have no idea what to do Belle," he said rubbing his temples, "I wasn't expecting this, we were…you're right of course. It's just we were planning, and I wanted something to go right for once. I need to go think," he turned to jump down and Belle grabbed his hand.

"Adam," she said searching his face, "I really didn't say no. I want that too."

He smiled softly, bending to kiss her hand, "I don't deserve you, my Belle."

He jumped down easily, leaving Belle to her thoughts. She was startled slightly after some minutes had passed to hear Betsy down below, "Belle? Give me a hand up."

Belle reached down and helped Betsy climb up next to her, it was most impressive considering it was twice as tall as Betsy was herself. She scampered up easily and sat down next to Belle, squinting into the breeze.

"How is he," she said, barely more than a whisper.

Belle looked over at her, genuine concern lined her young face, her naturally skeptical brow line even more pronounced. She was a little relieved someone else had noticed, he was off. It wasn't good.

"He's not good, actually," she said quietly, "depressed, confused, completely doubting himself."

She wanted to say more, she wanted to say that it was as if someone had flipped a switch, the confident man that she knew completely replaced by a small boy, terribly annoyed that he didn't get his way, and not sure how to express it. She eyed Betsy who was nodding softly.

"I'm glad you see it too," she said, "what do you suggest? I've known him for longer, but I have a feeling you know him better."

"I'll tread softly until we get to safety," Belle said with confidence, "who knows what could happen until then. There's no point talking to him until he's not worried about getting us out of here alive. Maybe when he's had a chance to hear from Cogsworth?"

Betsy nodded again, "agreed."

Just as quickly as she climbed up, she jumped down and grabbed a biscuit from Lumiere on her way to gather up her things.

"Alright everyone!" she said, "Pack up, we've got to move out in-"

A twig snapped and her head snapped up, you could almost see her ears perking up like an animal. She held a finger to her lips and looked up at Belle.

Belle's eyes widened as she realized what was happening, she peered over the side of the rock but heard a rustling of leaves from behind her. She felt a hand on her back. She barely stifled a scream when she turned and saw Adam next to her, " _get down_ ," he mouthed, eyes blazing.

And he jumped down into the clearing.


End file.
